Abrasive materials and components have long been used in various industrial-machining applications, including lapping/grinding, in which bulk material removal is executed, to fine polishing, in which fine micron and submicron surface irregularities are addressed. Typical materials that undergo such machining operations include various ceramics, glasses, glass-ceramics, metals and metal alloys. Abrasives may take on any one of various forms, such as free abrasives as in an abrasive slurry in which loose abrasive particles in suspension are used for machining. Alternatively, abrasives may take the form of a fixed abrasive, such as a coated abrasive or a bonded abrasive. Coated abrasives are generally categorized as abrasive components having an underlying substrate, on which abrasive grits or grains are adhered thereto through a series of make coats and size coats. Bonded abrasives typically do not have an underlying substrate and are formed of an integral structure of abrasive grits that are bonded together via a matrix bonding material.
Abrasive brushes can include a plurality of abrasive filaments. The abrasive filaments can include a matrix material, such as a polymer. Further, abrasive grits can be dispersed within the polymer matrix. Advantageously, the flexible filaments enable the abrasive brush to conform to the surface features of a work piece to polish an irregularly shaped surface. A need continues to exist in the art for abrasive brushes with improved performance and durability.